Europe marks 20 years since fall of Berlin Wall

November 10, 2009
Sam Lawson and Victoria Lee

Twenty years ago, the world watched the gradual disintegration of the Soviet Union as the Berlin Wall was removed.

President Reagan’s famous command to Gorbachev that he must “tear down this wall” in 1983 echoed in the minds of the repressed people of Berlin that had undergone significant suppression of human rights as well as being denied basic necessities for decades.

In Berlin, oversized, brightly coloured dominoes were placed for one and a half kilometres along part of the area where the Wall used to stand. A nudge from both ends collapsed the line in a gesture to represent the fall of the Wall in 1989. Open-air concerts, speeches and fireworks ensued as Berlin was brought together once again in its ‘Festival of Freedom’ as they celebrated the anniversary of the reunification of Berlin.

Anniversaries of historic events come and go. The landmark fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9 November 1989, however, represented much more than that. Alongside the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Good Friday agreement, the destruction of the physical, social economic and political barriers between the East and West, changed the world irrevocably.

The celebrations of yesterday are an important celebration of a massive change in the geo-political landscape of Europe and are an important reflection on one of the greatest moments in history.

Over 100,000 people gathered in Berlin to celebrate this “Festival of Freedom”. The implications of the fall of the Berlin Wall are still being felt today and, of course, as with any such situation, have led international leaders to look to the future and question what has yet to be achieved.

U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton recently spoke of the need to “form an even stronger partnership to bring down the walls of the 21st century,” and pledged her and the United States’ efforts towards working for greater international co-operation.

Although the anniversary deserves remembrance and celebration, Clinton’s and other world leaders’ comments have led some to question the genuine achievements of that fateful day. Indeed, most agree that there is still much continuing work to be done on repairing East-West relationships.

UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband’s recent visit to Russia has highlighted the continuing difficulties of the relations between the East and West. The demands Miliband made show the West’s desire to see democracy and the recognition of human rights embraced by Russia. Yet again, the two massive powers disagree. The Litvinenko crisis and continuing extradition argument suggest the idea that our celebrations may be premature.

The Cold War, spanning from 1945 – 1991, was a war of ideologies and led to a state of continual political conflict following post world war tensions.

The war was fought via a nuclear arms race, espionage, propaganda and technological competition. This was effectively ended on the 9 November 1989 by the uprising of Berliners. They took hold of sledge hammers and began breaking down the metaphorical and physical borders that had stood for so long between East and West.

Times and tools have changed, and the purported ‘people power’ that the world saw then has been refashioned. The current political world has altered substantially to how it was in 1989, and the fall of the Berlin Wall clearly had a huge part to play in this.

However, the question remains; to what extent?

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